Gone
by Tina101
Summary: What if Collins had died instead of Angel? Short story, definately NOT one of my best. AU.
1. Chapter 1

_Gone_

**A/N:** Just a warning, this story is CRAP!!! It wasn't planned out AT ALL!!! I'm going to apologize now to avoid any and hopefully ALL flames!! Also, the chapters are short.

Tina101

**Chapter 1:**

Angela opened her eyes. Collins was curled up in bed next to him shivering uncontrollably. Angel sat up and felt Collins' forehead.

"Angel?" he mumbled. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. You're burning up." Collins shook his head.

"No, I'm freezing." Angel got up and dug a thick quilt out of a box in the closet. He folded it in half and covered Collins with it.

"There you go, honey." Collins snuggled deep under the warm blanket. Angel kissed his cheek. "I love you." He got back into bed and turned off the light. Tomorrow, he was going to take Collins to the emergency room.

"I love you too." Angel wrapped his arm around Collins and rested his head on Collins' chest in hopes of sharing body heat. Collins wrapped his arms around Angel, and they both fell asleep.

Angel woke up safe in Collins' arms. He sat up and felt his forehead. Collins didn't move. Angel shook his shoulder.

"Collins, Collins baby, its time to get up." Still nothing. Angel began to panic. He desperately searched for a pulse. "Collins, please, wake up honey." Angel flung himself across Collins' chest and began to sob. He was gone.

Angel finally tore himself from Collins' body and did the only thing he could; he first called 911, and then called Mimi.

"Mimi, I need you to come over. God, I just need someone here with me. Collins, Collins is…." Angel completely lost it. "Dead," she finally managed to say.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," Mimi assured. "Don't you worry, I'll be right there. You just stay calm." Angel hung up the phone. All there was left to do was wait. He had closed the door to the bedroom; it would be ages before he would be able to sleep in there again.

As Mimi was arriving, the paramedics were taking away Collins' body. Mimi stood frozen in the hallway for about a minute before going up to comfort Angel.

Angel was sitting on the couch, in a complete daze, when Mimi rushed into the apartment and wrapped her arms around him. Angel leaned against Mimi.

"Its okay, it's okay sweetie. It's okay to cry," Mimi said through her own tears as she rubbed Angel's back.

"I was right there and didn't do anything!" Angel cried.

"There was nothing you _could_ do; it was his time to go. Now, he isn't sick anymore."

Mimi held Angel close for nearly an hour. Neither one said anything for that hour. Angel pulled away from Mimi.

"I have to call everyone and tell them," he said as he stood up. "And there's the funeral arrangements and everything too." Mimi got to her feet.

"Angel, I'll make the calls," she offered. Angel shook his head.

"No, this is something I need to do." Angel picked up the phone in the kitchen and made each agonizing phone call to tell the Bohemians the horrible news. Mimi stood next to him and rubbed his back the entire time.

Finally, the grueling task was done. Everyone sent their deepest condolences and was heartbroken by the terrible news. Mimi gave Angel a reassuring hug.

"That's all you have to do today," she told him. "Why don't you go lie down, and I'll make you something to eat?" Angel shook his head.

"I _never_ want to sleep in there again."

"Then go sleep on the couch. You look like a mess."  
"No, no, I need to make the funeral arrangements and to call NYU and tell them."

"Shh, I'll make you a deal. If you take a nap for a few hours and eat something, I'll help you make all the arrangements." Mimi kissed Angel's cheek. "Okay chica?" Angel nodded. Mimi led him over to the couch and had him lay down.

Once Angel was situated on the couch, Mimi made him some toast. When she went back out to the main room, Angel was fast asleep. Mimi was relieved about this; Angel looked like a ghost of himself. Mimi sat down on the floor by the window and began to cry. Not only did she cry for Collins, but also she cried for her family that was falling apart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Angel stood next to the coffin. Wrapped around his thin shoulders was Collins' jack, something he couldn't bare to bury Collins in. Angel looked up towards his friends. It looked like they were fighting. Angel patted the top of Collins' coffin and reluctantly went to go see what was wrong with his friends.

"All your words are nice, Mimi, but love's not a three way street. You'll never share real love until you love yourself; I should know," Roger spat. Angel stepped in.

"Guys, stop it! You all promised that you wouldn't fight. He's not even in the ground, and you're fighting. Please, for my sake. This family's already falling apart, and you're not helping." The Bohemians all looked at each other. "I can't believe he's gone." Angel turned to Roger. "I can't believe you're going."

"I can't believe this is…goodbye." Roger turned around and left. Mimi followed him for a second before returning to Benny. Maureen and Joanne were off in their own little world apologizing to each other.

"Angel, I'm going to go to the Life for a drink, do you want to come?" Mark offered. Angel shook his head.

"No, I have to figure out how to pay for the funeral."  
"Don't worry about it, I've got it covered," Benny said as he pulled out his checkbook."

"You don't have to."

"Collins was my friend too, I _want_ to." Benny gave Mimi a hug and left with Mark.

As Mimi was leaving, Angel grabbed her arm. He knew why she was in such a hurry to get home; Benny was blind.

"Mimi-chica, _please_ don't go meet The Man," Angel pleaded. Mimi pulled away from him.

"I, I'm not," she lied.

"Yes you are. You need a hit." Angel took Mimi's hands in his own. "You're pale, shaking, sweating, and your hands are freezing; I know the signs. Please get help. I just lost Collins, I can't lose you too."  
"I don't need help; I can stop anytime I want to."

"Then stop." Angel took Mimi's face in his hands. "You're so young, please stop. Don't make me lose the two people I love the most in the same year." Mimi pulled away.

"I have to go. Don't be afraid to call me in the middle of the night."  
"Same here, chica, same here." Angel watched Mimi leave. Now what? There was no one to go home to. Angel was alone.

**A/N:** Sorry about the short chapter!

Tina101


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Joanne and Maureen walked down the street, fingers entwined. It had been a week since Collins' funeral. Joanne kissed the top of Maureen's hand.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Maureen said. Something caught her attention down the street; a leopard print coat slipping down an alley. Maureen stopped.

"What's wrong?"  
"I think I just saw Mimi rushing down the alley. Let's go." Maureen began to pull Joanne down the street towards where she had seen Mimi.

Mimi paid The Man and stuck the smack in her shoe. When she turned around, she found Maureen and Joanne standing behind her.

"Oh hey," Mimi said as she brushed past Maureen and Joanne. The couple followed her.

"Meems, how've you been?" Joanne asked. Mimi shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. Listen, I really have to get going. I'll see you both later." Maureen grabbed Mimi's thin shoulders.

"Let us take you to a rehab place," she pleaded. "Please." Mimi pulled her coat tighter around her.

"I'm fine, Maureen. I don't need help."

"Yes you do, honey," Joanne insisted.

"I said that I'm fine!" Mimi spun around and dashed down the street. Maureen and Joanne stood frozen for a few seconds before leaving the dark alley.

Mimi ran up to her apartment and slammed the door closed behind her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Benny sitting at her kitchen table.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she began to rummage around through some drawers in deep concentration.

"I'm worried about you." Mimi continued her search. "Looking for this?" Benny held up her syringe.

"Give that back!" Mimi exclaimed as she lunged at Benny. "It's mine! I need it!"

"No you don't!" Benny reached out to comfort Mimi, but she shrank away.

"Please don't touch me, I'm scared."

"Mark told me about this rehab place. I'm more than willing to pay for it if you're willing to go." Mimi stared at the ground. "Just say the word, and I'll take you." There were tears in Mimi's eyes. Maybe Roger would come home if she got clean. Mimi wrapped her arms around herself. She _needed_ her smack.

"One more. One more hit. Just let me have one more hit, and then I'll go," she stammered. Benny shook his head.

"It's all or nothing." Mimi squeezed her eyes closed. She could feel her brain wracking with longing for the stash hidden in her shoe. "Mimi?"

"I want my drugs, please, I need it. You don't understand how much I need it," she sobbed.

"Let me take you to a rehab place. It's a good program." Mimi started to shake horribly. Her mind could only focus on one thing, the baggie of heroin burning a hole in her foot. Mimi closed her eyes again to help her focus on Benny's generous offer. She began to nod her head furiously.

Finally, she said quietly, "I want to get clean."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Angel was curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around him. playing in the background was the jazz music that Collins had always listened to. It made Angel feel closer to Collins. The phone rang. Angel picked the one up off the floor and held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Angel," Mimi said weakly. "How've you been chica?"

"Okay I guess. Where are you? What's with all the background noise?"

"I'm in rehab."

"Really? Good job, I'm proud of you. How's it treating you? You sound pretty wiped out."

"Probably not as bad as you sound. Are you sleeping enough at night? You looked like a ghost last week."

"Don't you worry about me, chica. You worry about getting clean. I'm very proud of you for taking this step."

"Thanks. Benny's paying for it."

"I figured as much. I want you to call me _everyday_ to let me know how you're doing, okay?"

"I will," Mimi promised. "I'll call you everyday. Listen, I have to go. I just wanted to call and let you know."

"Good, I'm incredibly proud of you. I love you, Mimi-chica."

"I love you too, Angel." Angel hung up the phone. He couldn't believe that Mimi was getting clean. Now, if only Roger would come home…

Mimi was huddled in the middle of her bed. She couldn't take feeling like this. For two weeks she was in constant pain. This had gone far enough. Mimi got up and began to pack her bag; she was getting out of this place.

Mimi grabbed her backpack and left her room, if you could call it a room. She stopped at the front desk. The nurse looked up and smiled.

"I'm leaving," Mimi said firmly. The smile wiped off the nurse's face.

"Are you sure sweetie? If there's anything you need, we can try and get it for you." Mimi shook her head.

"You can't get me what I want. I want to go home right now. I just, I just can't do this. Thanks." Mimi shouldered her backpack and left without looking back. In her mind, she could sense her friends' disappointment. None of that mattered though; all Mimi wanted to do was find The Man. She didn't have any money with her; she'd have to go home first.

When Mimi opened the door to her apartment, she found it completely empty. Benny must have put everything in storage for safekeeping. Mimi's heart sank, she had no money. Suddenly, she remembered; hidden under the floorboards in her closet was some spare money. Mimi rushed to her closet and yanked up the floorboards and jammed her hand down into the hole. Inside were a few loose bills. Mimi counted them out; she was still short about twenty dollars. Mimi heard Mark walk past her closed door, she recognized his footsteps. Mark's footsteps faded as he went downstairs. Mimi shoved the money in her pocket and dashed up to the loft.

As was expected, the loft was deserted. Mimi went straight to a lone shoebox on top of the refrigerator. She knew for a fact that that's where the guys kept an extra stash of money in case of an emergency. At the moment, Mimi didn't comprehend what she was doing. She grabbed fifteen dollars from the box; that should be enough. Mimi heard footsteps outside the loft. Shit, Mark was coming back! Just as the loft door opened, Mimi scrambled down the fire escape.

Mark found what he had forgotten, his scarf. He was about to leave when he noticed the shoebox on the table with the lid next to it.

"That's funny, I didn't put you there," Mark said as he put the shoebox back on the refrigerator. It didn't dawn on him to see how much money was in the shoebox. Mark wrapped his scarf around his neck and left to go out filming; he had a film to finish.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Angel got himself a beer and stared out the window. He hadn't heard from Mimi in three days, and it was starting to worry him. Mimi had been so good about calling at the beginning. Angel went into the kitchen. He grabbed the phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Benny, its Angel. I was wondering if you've heard from Mimi in the past few days."

"No, I'm sorry Angel."

"I'm getting pretty worried about her. She hasn't called in a few days."

"She's going through a lot right now."  
"I know, but the rehab place won't tell me anything."

"I'll call them and ask. Don't worry, Mimi's probably there, and they wont' tell you because they don't know who you are. I'll call the rehab place and call you right back."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it; bye."

"Bye, Benny." Angel hung up the phone and leaned against the counter. At the moment all he could think about was his Mimi-chica.

Sighing, Benny picked up the phone on his desk. He was trying to figure out how exactly to tell Angel where Mimi was. This wasn't going to be easy. Angel picked up immediately after the first ring.

"Benny?" he asked.

"Yeah, hey Angel." Benny rubbed the back of his neck, something he did when he was nervous. "Listen, I talked to the director at Mimi's rehab. Apparently she checked herself out of rehab six days ago."

"But that's impossible; I just talked to her three days ago. She said that she was doing fine. She actually sounded great." A sudden realization washed over Angel. He slammed his fist down on the counter. "God damn it, she was high! I _knew_ that something was off!"

"Don't blame yourself. We'll find Mimi and help her get clean ourselves if we have to."

"What do you mean by, 'we'll find Mimi'? where is she right now?" Benny didn't answer right away. Benny began to worry. "Benny, where…is…Mimi?"

"I don't know. She's not at Maureen and Joanne's, with me, with you, at the loft or her place. I honestly don't know where Mimi is."

"She's twenty years old with her only friends right here in New York City, how far can she go!"

"Santa Fe maybe?" Benny suggested.

"No, Mimi wouldn't go after Roger. Have you contacted the police, filed a missing person's report?"

"Not yet. Give it a few more days, I'm sure that Mimi's fine. I'm sorry, but I have to get back to work. If I hear anything on Mimi, you'll be the first person I call."

"Okay thanks."

"Bye."

"Bye." Angel hung up the phone. He couldn't believe that Mimi had dropped out of rehab; he had actually thought that she'd go through with it.

Maureen pulled a photo album out from a shelf on her nightstand and began to flip through it. She stopped at a picture of Collins giving her a piggyback ride. Joanne came out of the bedroom and sat down next to Maureen.

"I miss him so much, Pookie," she said quietly. Joanne held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"I know Honeybear, I know."

"He was one of my best friends. We told each other anything and everything. Sometimes, I still expect to see him come into the loft in his usual loud manor." Joanne wiped away Maureen's tears. Maureen put her hands over Joanne's. "You must think that I'm being a diva again."

"No, of course not. You lost one of your best friends." Maureen leaned against Joanne and continued to flip through the photo album. At times, the couple would stop and look at a photo. They spent a particularly long time on a photo of Mimi. She was sitting at the bar at the Life, but you couldn't tell. Mimi's head and torso took up the entire picture. Her smile was bright, cheerful and contagious.

"Pookie, I'm getting worried about Mimi. It's getting cold out."

"I know. I have this week off. We should get together with Angel and start looking for Mimi." Joanne pulled the photo of Mimi out of the album and put it on her nightstand. Maureen put the heavy album away.

Joanne slid under the warm covers, and Maureen turned off the lights and got into bed. Joanne rested her head on Maureen's chest. There was a pang of guilt in her stomach. They should have started the search for Mimi a week ago; they waited too long.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Angel was sitting on the couch at his place with a blanket wrapped around him to ward off the cold when someone knocked on the door. He got up to answer it. Standing there was Joanne and Maureen.

"Hey honey," Maureen said as Angel gave them each a hug. "Can we talk to you about some things?"

"Of course, come on in." Angel stood to the side and let Joanne and Maureen inside.

Maureen and Joanne sat down in Angel's apartment. Angel began to dig around in the kitchen for something to eat. Maureen looked around the apartment. There was a thick comforter and a pillow on the couch. Magazines and mail was spewed across the kitchen table. The sink was filled with dirty dishes. Cleaning was obviously far from Angel's mind right now.

"Angel, come sit down," Joanne said. "We're fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, now come sit." Angel took a seat on the couch.

"Are you sleeping out here on the couch?" Maureen asked. Angel nodded.

"I can't bring myself to sleep in the bedroom, it's too son. The couch is fine, it's comfortable and all." Angel paused. "You're here about Mimi aren't you?"

"Maureen and I printed up missing persons fliers. We, including Mark, are going to pass them out. We figured that you'd want to help." Angel nodded.

"Have you asked around?"

"a little, but I guess we were hoping that Mimi would just come home." Angel grabbed a pen and a pad of paper off the coffee table.

"Okay, we should talk to the manager at the CatScratch Club, her dealer and some of her coworkers." Angel began to scribble like mad on the pad of paper. He was on a mission, to find Mimi before it was too late.

Angel curled up on the couch and turned on the TV. On came some people discussing current events. Angel smiled weakly. Maureen and Collins used to throw trash at the TV, yelling and cussing about what the people were saying. They would always have to change the channel to get the use of colorful vocabulary to stop; at least for the time being. Angel pulled the comforter tighter around him. he used to wait up on the couch, watching TV, when Collins had to work late. Usually, they'd end up curled up on the couch together watching the second half of a movie they'd never seen before into the wee hours of the morning. Angel sighed. He missed his Collins dearly.

**A/N:** Sorry about the chapters being so short! This wasn't a very well planned out story.

Tina101


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Joanne leaned against the bar at the CatScratch Club. It looked surprisingly different during the day. At last, the manager came out from backstage.

"Hi, I'm Chuck, the manager," he said. Joanne shook his hand. "Now, what can I do for you?"  
"I'm a friend of Mimi Marquez's. I was wondering if you've seen her lately." Chuck stopped to think.

"I'm afraid not; not in about three weeks." Joanne sighed. "I'm sorry, I wish I could help, Mimi's a sweet kid."

"No, it's not your fault. Listen, if you do see her, call me." Joanne handed Chuck her business card. "Day or night, it doesn't matter." Chuck put the number in his pocket.

"I'll talk to some of the girls who know Mimi and let you know." Joanne thanked Chuck and left.

Angel waited at the free clinic to pick up his AZT. The pharmacist handed him a small white paper bag.

"Thanks," he said. "Could you tell me if Mimi Marquez has been here recently?"

"One second." The pharmacist disappeared. She returned a few minutes later. "Ms. Marquez hasn't picked up her AZT in a while."

"Okay, thanks. Could you call me if she shows up, it's an emergency?"  
"Yeah." Angel grabbed his medicine and left to go home. Everything became increasingly urgent now that Mimi wasn't getting her medication; she could only last so long without it.

Mark stood up on the roof. He needed the fresh air to clear his mind. There was a lot going on right now; Mimi was missing, Collins was dead, and then there was Roger. He had actually called a few days to tell Mark that he was going to be coming home in a few days.

The door to the rooftop opened, shattering Mark's thoughts. Mark spun around to see Roger standing there. The two best friends shared a huge, wordless embrace. They both pulled away at the exact same time.

"Welcome home, man," Mark said. Roger ran his fingers through his hair.

"Any word from Mimi?" Mark sighed sadly.

"No. Why don't we go back inside, it's pretty cold out?" Roger didn't object. He was still used to the warm desert climate of Santa Fe.

Once inside, Roger grabbed a beer for him and one for Mark and flopped down on the couch. The loft looked exactly the same way as when he had left.

"Benny called," Mark said. "He asked to get together with you when you get back." Roger shook his head.

"I have nothing to say to him," he said before taking a long sip of his beer. Mark sighed.

"Please Roger, he's helping with Mimi. I'll call him; all you have to do is meet him." Roger took another drink of his beer.

"Fine, whatever." Roger paused. "What are you doing about Mimi?" Mark sat down in one of the chairs.

"We've asked a bunch of people about her. Nobody's seen her in a few weeks."  
"You told me that she was in rehab!"  
"Like you even cared! She's missing, Roger." Roger got to his feet. He was furious at Mark. "Nobody's seen her in a few weeks." Roger threw his beer bottle on the floor, shattering it and spilling the remaining beer.

"I care about Mimi! If you had even bothered to tell me, I would have come right home!"

"When!? You called a grand total of two times. Once to let me know that you were there, and once to tell me that you were coming home."  
"So this is my fault?"

"I never said that. All I'm saying is that I couldn't tell you. It's my fault as well as yours." Roger ran his fingers through his hair.

"Nobody's seen Mimi lately?" he asked hopefully. Mark shook his head.

"She dropped out of rehab, and that's the last anyone saw her. we think she's using again. She's not going to work or taking her AZT."

Roger kicked the couch and exclaimed, "Fuck! She could be dead, Mark! She could be anywhere in the City!"  
"She's waiting for you to come home. Once she finds out, she'll come home."  
"How will she know?"  
"She's around here somewhere, Alphabet City's where all her friends are; this is where she feels safe."  
"Whatever, stop preaching to the choir. This is bullshit." Roger grabbed his bag and retreated to his room.

Mark sighed. He grabbed a wad of paper towels and got down on all fours. He began to mop up the beer and broken glass from Roger's little explosion. He felt bad about not telling Roger about Mimi, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Now all they could do was continue their search for Mimi.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Roger dashed across the street to the Life. The cold weather was horrible; it only pushed Roger to further search for Mimi. Roger went inside the Life. It felt good to be back in New York City. Roger found Benny sitting at the bar. He slid into the stool next to his estranged friend.

"Welcome home," Benny said in hopes of lightening the tense air between him and Roger. "How was Santa Fe?" Roger shrugged.

"Okay I guess." Roger's gaze was fixed on the surface in front of him.

"She still loves you, you know." Roger looked at Benny. "Mimi, that is. She loves you." Roger stood up. He didn't need to hear this from anyone, especially Benny.

"If you know where Mimi is," he growled.

"I'd tell you," Benny said in a calm voice. "Trust me, I would. I'm not that heartless, contrary to popular belief. I'm over Mimi, it was a fling." Roger rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I have to go find _my_ girlfriend." With that, Roger turned on his heels and left the Life.

Mark bound up the stairs to Angel's apartment. He wanted to see how Angel had been holding up lately. Mark knocked on the door. Angel answered it. He was in sweatpants and one of Collins' flannel shirts.

"Hey Mark," he said as he gave Mark a hug. "Come on in." Mark followed Angel inside.

"How've you been holding up, Ang?" Mark and Angel sat on the couch together. Angel shrugged.

"Pretty good. You know, Mark, you don't have to come and check on me; I'm a big boy."

"I'm worried. You can be honest with me. How are you holding up?"

"I'm a mess, Mark," Angel confessed. "I miss Collins so much." Mark was at a loss at what to do. "We had talked about what would happen and what we would do, but it was only talk. We only talked about it, because we knew that we had to."

"Collins was one of my best friends, and he wouldn't want to see you like this. Where's the old, bubbly Angel we used to know?" Angel got to his feet.

"I don't know. There's so much shit going on right now. The love of my life is dead, and my best friend is gone!" Angel broke down into sobs. Mark had never seen him cry. Even at Collins' funeral, he had stared ahead, stone faced. Mark got up and gave Angel a comforting hug. He wasn't really good at this comforting thing, but Angel needed him.

Roger scanned the vacant park for any sings of a leopard print jacket. No luck. Roger continued to walk through Tompkins Square Park. Leaning up against a tree was The Man. Roger rushed up to him. He was the only one that Mimi would buy heroin from.

"Hey, hey!" Roger exclaimed. He skidded to a stop in front of his old dealer. The icy December air burned his throat and lungs as he caught his breath. "Have you seen her?" he asked as he held out a worn _Missing_ flier for The Man to see. The Man looked it over.

"Mimi?"  
"Yeah, have you seen her?"

"Not recently." Roger sighed.

"If you do, please send her home." The Man nodded. Roger left to continue his search. Time was running out to find Mimi. She couldn't last that much longer on the freezing streets without her medicine.

**A/N:** The next chapter is the last.

Tina101


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: **

**A/N:** The Spanish translations aren't a hundred percent accurate, they're the general idea. I'm just telling you now. They're basically what's already said, so some parts aren't even translated. Just read the chapter, you'll get it!!

Tina101

Mark picked up the phone and dialed the number to Angel's place. It was Christmas Eve, and nobody deserved to be alone, least of all Angel. Angel picked up after a few rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Mark. Do you want to come over? I finished my film and all." Angel didn't answer right away.

"Umm, sure. Thanks honey. I'll be right over." Mark said goodbye to Angel and hung up the phone. He still had to set up the projector.

Roger watched Mark set up his projector from his seat on the couch. He picked up his guitar and strummed it absent-mindedly. He wasn't really in the mood to celebrate Christmas. What was there to celebrate; the breaking up of their Bohemian family? Collins was dead, and hope of finding Mimi was wearing thin. A year ago things had been so great, but now…

Half an hour later, Angel joined Roger and Mark at the loft. In his hand was a full bottle of Stoli.

"For Collins," he said even though both Mark and Roger already knew that. Mark grabbed three plastic cups off the counter and handed them out. "Are the girls coming over?"  
"Yea, they should be here any minute," Roger replied as Mark poured the vodka. Angel held up his cup.

"Cheers," he said almost grimly. Roger and Mark held up their glasses in remembrance of Collins. Angel held his cup up towards the sky before downing its contents. It was weird to see Angel out of drag as 'one of the guys;' at least to Roger. He couldn't tell how Mark felt about this.

Mark, Roger and Angel were all sitting around waiting for Maureen and Joanne. Mark refused to show his film until they showed up.

Roger was about to call them when a frantic voice from the street below called, "Mark! Roger! Anyone!? HELP!"  
"Maureen?" Mark asked. He, Roger and Angel all rushed out to the fire escape. Maureen and Joanne were both on the street below. Cradled in Joanne's arms was Mimi.

"Mimi," Angel breathed.

"We can't get her up the stairs," Maureen exclaimed. "Hurry up!" The three men scrambled inside and down to the street below.

Joanne was struggling to keep her hold on Mimi. Finally, Mark, Roger and Angel came rushing out of the building.

"Here give me," Angel said firmly as he took Mimi from Joanne. Mimi mumbled something under her breath. "Shh, it's okay chica. We've got you now."  
"Let me help you," Roger said. He and Angel rushed Mimi up to the loft.

Joanne was the first one up to the loft. She slid open the door and went inside. Everyone followed her.

"No room on the couch!" Joanne announced.

"Put her on the table," Mark ordered. Maureen and Joanne swept everything off the table and onto the floor. Mark put a blanket and pillow on the table before Roger and Angel laid Mimi on it.

"Roger…Roger!" Mimi cried. Roger rushed to her side.

"Shh, I'm here. I'm here," he soothed. Mimi's gaze wandered over to Angel.

"Angel." A soft smile played across Mimi's face. "You're here." Angel leaned over and stroked Mimi's thin cheek.

"I'm right here, chica. Don't you worry." Mimi began to cough violently. When she was done, she focused on Roger.

"I finished my song for you," he said. Angel reluctantly took a few steps backwards so Roger could share with Mimi his latest triumph.

Mimi found herself walking towards a warm, white light. Out of nowhere, a shadowy figure appeared. The image of the person focused.

"Collins!" Mimi exclaimed as she threw her arms around Collins' neck. Chuckling, Collins returned the hug. Mimi backed away. "Am I dead?"

"No, you're not. You have to turn back. Roger's been through enough shit to lose you. Listen to that boy's song, he loves you." Mimi gave Collins another warm hug. "Tell Angel that I want her to go on with her life. Tell her to start dressing up again." Mimi nodded.

"I will. I will," she promised.

"I love you, Meems."

"I love you too."

Mimi felt herself being pulled away from Collins by an invisible force. The next thing she knew, she was back at the loft. She rolled over and began to cough. Angel rubbed her back as everyone rushed to her side.

"Mimi!" Roger exclaimed, clearly shocked. Mimi sat up on the table.

"I was heading towards this warm, white light, and Collins was there!" angel's hand flew to his mouth. "He told me to turn around because Roger' been through enough shit to lose me." Everyone chuckled. Mimi turned to Angel. "Él quisiera que te enciendas con tu vida y que comenzaras a vestir en la fricación otra vez como antes." Angel nodded. He wrapped his arms around Mimi and kissed the top of her head.

"Voluntad," he swore. _I promise_. "Yo prometo que." _I promise that._ The rest of the Bohemians wanted to know what was going on, but no one (not even Maureen) dared to ask and ruin the moment. Mimi gently pulled away from Angel and leaned against Roger. She saw the projector and smiled weakly.

"You finished your movie," she said to Mark. Mark blushed slightly.

"Yeah, I'll show you guys another time."

"What's it called?"  
"_Actual Reality_." Angel smiled. Mimi closed her eyes. She felt so safe with all her friends around her. Roger got up and held Mimi to her feet.

"Let's get you to bed." Mimi didn't object. She said goodnight to everyone and went to bed, safe in Roger's strong arms.

Later that night, Angel was searching through the closet for something to wear tomorrow. When he came across Collins' jacket, he pressed his face against the cool fabric and took a deep breath. It still smelled like Collins' aftershave and marijuana smoke. Angel stood there for a second, breathing in Collins' scent before going on in search of an outfit. Finally, she decided on one, her white flowered skirt and bright green sweater.

**The End **


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